“Alive – just about. That wound has worsened; her head is quite bloodied. She's still unconscious, but I've got the manacles on her now. Just in case.”
“Good to hear. You know that lighting a fire will draw in anyone looking for her, don't you?” Haros asked, unpacking some rations from one of the bags.The choice of foodstuffs was slim, consisting of anything that would survive a few days in the wilderness and could be eaten with little preparation needed: hard, dried fruits, meat jerky and some biscuits.
“I am aware and I don't want to do it, but I don't see much other choice. She's cold as a stone. Besides, I'm cold too. I'm sure we could all do with warming up before we have to head back out there.” Lephas unstrapped his own sword, placing it with the others.
“I hear you. It's been bitter out there today. I guess we'll just have to be on our guard. Sleeping in shifts might not be a bad idea.” Haros nodded.
“Agreed. Let the men sleep first – I'll take the first shift. I'm going to see if I can get anything out of our prisoner whilst I tend to her.”
Haros shot him a knowing look and raised an eyebrow.
“...What?!” Lephas snapped, feeling a scowl deepening on his brow. He fought to contain the tell-tale warmth creeping up his neck once again.
“Nothing, I didn't say anything.” Haros grinned, putting his palms up in surrender. “I was just wondering if perhaps I wasn't the only one to notice how attractive the little dove is after all.”
“Don't be ridiculous,” Lephas spat.
He quickly began gathering food – for two – and some first aid supplies. They hadn't brought much with them, but there was a simple kit that he could use to patch the worst of her injury for now until they got back to Banesteppe.
“Guess it was my imagination then.” Haros sighed, still grinning even after Lephas shot him a venomous look.
“You! Get that kindling into the back bedroom,” the commander shouted, taking his embarrassment out on an unsuspecting soldier.
The young boy fumbled to gather the snapped chair legs and other miscellaneous wood they had found, nearly tripping in his haste to get clear ofLephas's gaze.
The commander quickly scanned the dusty kitchen shelves. Whoever had lived here previously had left in a hurry, or, more unnervingly, hadn't realised they wouldn't be coming back. Most of their possessions still stood as they had left them, but now they were covered in a thick layer of dust.
As he moved a few jars, a dark, unlabelled bottle caught his eye. Lephas picked it up and pulled the stopper free with a faint pop, leaning in to sniff the contents.
Whisky – an old one. He resealed the bottle and wiped the dust from its neck, appraising it. That would be a nice warm-up for when they were out in the snow. He carefully slid the bottle inside his pack.
He spotted a metal pot that would be suitable for heating water and added that to his supplies before following the soldier back into the bedroom.
The princess was still lying on the dusty floor where he had left her. She had begun to shiver, her teeth chattering and the metal of her restraintsclinking quietly.
Lephas watched silently from the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the frame as the soldier made short work of setting the kindling up in the old, abandoned fireplace. He grabbed a few handfuls of the old hay from the mattress and struck a match. The filling caught alight quickly. The soldier carefully placed the small flame underneath the wood and knelt forward to blow air onto it.
It wasn't long until the flame had taken hold and the crackling fire had grown to fill the small fireplace.
“I'll gather some extra kindling for you, sir. Enough to last the night.” The soldier bowed his head.
“Thank you.” Lephas dipped his own head in a small nod. He moved to allow the boy to leave and, once he was alone, took a few tentative steps towards the faerie.
He placed his pack and supplies down beside her. He carefully unstrapped a thin, rolled-up mattress from his bag and unfurled it. They didn't have any spares. He knew by rolling this one out for the girl he would be going without.
With a dry mouth, he scooped one hand under her neck and the other under her knees. She groaned, but he easily lifted her onto the padded roll of material and placed her closer to the fire. At least she would get a chance to warm up there.
He knew he shouldn't be as concerned as he was. He knew he should remind himself of why they had captured the girl – she was a daughter of Lazuli, the faerie king. The same faerie king who had killed Tennul Dawnoaken – the late demon king and his friends' father – and indirectly his own father, who had gone to fight in a rebellion after Tennul fell.
Lephas knew this, but he couldn't seem to focus on it in that moment.
The commander grabbed the metal pot he had found and got to his feet, heading to a small, filthy window in the corner of the room.
The panes were so dirty, he could barely see through them, and the hinges were rusted shut. With a little force, it eventually opened with a loud creak. Lephas leaned out and gathered a few handfuls of snow from the window ledge and packed it tightly into the pot.
Pulling the window shut once more, he walked back to the fire and placed the pot down so it was almost sat in the embers.
He waited patiently for the snow to melt and boil. Lephas fought to keep his eyes off the faerie girl lying in front of him but failed miserably.
